Alison Riske needed just 80 minutes to win her opener at the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday, downing qualifier Caty McNally 6-0, 6-3 in an all-U.S. matchup at Indian Wells, Calif.
Riske came through in the key moments, saving 7 of 8 break points on her serve and converting half of her 10 break opportunities.
“I’m a big supporter of Caty’s,” Riske told the tournament’s website. “Not only is she a good tennis player, she’s a great person, and I love the way she carries herself on the court. There are only good things to come for Caty. It’s always tough playing another American, but I’m thrilled to get through.”
Riske earned a second-round matchup against eighth-seeded Garbine Muguruza, a former Wimbledon and French Open champion. The tournament’s top 32 seeds received first-round byes.
Riske lost the first two times she opposed Muguruza before beating her on each of their past two meetings, most recently in the first round of the 2019 U.S. Open.
“She’s tough,” Riske said. “It will be a challenging match, but I feel like if I focus on what I need to do, good things can happen.”
Dayana Yastremska, who recently fled her native Ukraine by boat and ended up reaching the tournament final at Lyon, France, last week, fell in her Indian Wells opener. France’s Caroline Garcia beat Yastremska 6-4, 6-7 (8), 7-5, rallying from a 4-2 deficit in the third set.
Claire Liu and Katie Volynets of the United States were among the other first-round winners. Also advancing were Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi, Croatia’s Petra Martic, Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, Japan’s Misaki Doi, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, China’s Qinwen Zheng, Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic and Great Britain’s Harriet Dart.
–Field Level Media